This week’s free app is the robot simulator The Robot Factory by Tinybop. Normally it’s $4, but you can get it free from iTunes until Thursday, June 8th.

What Is It?

This app reminds me of Mr. Potato Head, but for robots! You pick the torso, limbs and other accessories. If you allow microphone access, the app can record your voice for the robots.

After creating the robot, you can take it out for a spin and see what it can do. Sharp limbs slice vegetation while lasers burn it. The robots sync with your iCloud account and you can play with your robots on your Apple TV or send them through iMessage. Sadly, the Apple TV app doesn’t let you create robots

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Who Is It Good For?

Creative kids will love this simulator. There’s not much gameplay here, just pretend fun along with some rudimentary science to the game. Robots with wings can fly and robots with wheels roll. Complex robots won’t work as well.

The included pdf manual tells the story of all the robots and the parts, including Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.

Should You Download It?

The factory takes up about 300MB. I’m keeping this on my iPhone and Apple TV. I can see the kids making robots on the iOS device and then seeing them full-screen on the Apple TV. That integration makes it much more engaging. Hopefully, through future updates, the game will get more levels or worlds you can take your creations through.

Want more details on Robot Factor? Here’s a short 30-second video from the developer which gives a nice overview of everything the game has to offer. Enjoy!